In the east wing of the Gu residence, maidservants rushed in and out in a hurry. It was already chaotic, and with a child’s wailing cries added to it, the noise was unbearable.
Inside, Madam Gu lay half-reclined on the bed, her head spinning, her cheeks burning red. Despite being drenched in sweat, she was wrapped in a thick quilt, chills and fever alternating without end. She had been suffering for two full days now, the low fever refusing to break—worse even than that time with Jiang Yuan’er!
There was no medicine to be had. Imperial Physician Gu and Physician Hua were both at their wits’ end, able only to use silver needles to keep her from fainting outright.
Gu Meiting sat to the side, her face dark with displeasure. She had already ordered the servants to search for medicine, and had even sent word posthaste to her father, but there was still no news at all!
Jiang Yuan, left off to the side, had been crying the whole time, demanding to be held! The whole room’s occupants were on edge from the noise.
“Mother, hold me, hold me! Waaah… I want Mother to hold me!”
“Hongxia, take the young master away!” Gu Meiting snapped. These past few days, with Gu Suying gone and Jiang Chen also away, it had all fallen to Madam Gu to look after the child. Now that Madam Gu had collapsed, Gu Meiting had no idea what to do, and her patience was already worn thin!
The moment Jiang Yuan saw the maid approaching, he scrambled nimbly onto Madam Gu’s bed, crying even louder. “Grandmother, look, Mother’s bullying me, I want a hug! I want a hug!”
Madam Gu could barely tend to herself, and yet she still worried over her grandson. “Meiting… I’m… I’m fine. Take him… take him outside to play.”
“Have the maid carry him. I haven’t slept in two days, I’m exhausted!” Gu Meiting said irritably, shooting Jiang Yuan a fierce glare.
Jiang Yuan, more spoiled than his own mother, couldn’t bear this at all. He immediately let out another wail, bawling as he rubbed his head hard against Madam Gu’s arm, demanding she take his side.
Never mind Madam Gu, the invalid—even Physician Hua and Imperial Physician Gu standing nearby could hardly stand it. Physician Hua, unable to watch any longer, spoke up. “Eldest Young Miss, please take the young master outside. Madam needs her rest!”
“Then you drag him out! Spare me the irritation—all this racket, and I can’t even get a moment’s rest!” Gu Meiting snapped angrily.
Madam Gu couldn’t help but furrow her brow, words rising to her lips and dying there. She knew her daughter’s temperament all too well—what use was there in arguing with her?
But Jiang Yuan only cried louder, throwing himself down beside Madam Gu, kicking and flailing.
“Yuan’er, be good! Yuan’er is the most sensible child, aren’t you?”
“It’s your mother’s fault. Once Grandmother is well, Grandmother will hold you, will take you out to play, all right?”
…
Madam Gu endured her pounding headache, coaxing him with what patience she had left.
“No! I won’t! I want to go to the back hill right now, I want Mother to take me!” Jiang Yuan shouted.
Gu Meiting shot to her feet, furious. “You little brat, get down here, get down right now! Can’t you see your grandmother is ill? Get down this instant!”
Jiang Yuan stood up too, hands on his hips. “No, I won’t, take me to the back hill!”
“Don’t you dare! Get down, or I won’t go easy on you!” Gu Meiting warned.
“You wouldn’t dare. If you dare hit me, I’ll have Grandmother hit you, and Grandfather too!” Jiang Yuan retorted at once. Nearly seven years old, and the only thing he’d learned was how to talk back to adults.
Mother and son argued back and forth across the sickbed, their voices growing louder, until Madam Gu’s ears were ringing—she didn’t even have the strength left to tell them to stop!
Physician Hua, having just been snapped at so fiercely, no longer dared say a word of advice. Imperial Physician Gu watched silently as Madam Gu suffered through it, feeling nothing but sorrow. The old lady’s standing within the Gu family surpassed even that of the family head himself—what matter was there that the head of the Gu family would not yield to on his wife’s word?
And yet she was the one who tolerated her daughter’s and grandson’s tantrums like this—a situation entirely of her own making. Anyone else who spoke up about it would likely only earn her resentment.
Imperial Physician Gu couldn’t help but wonder—if the old madam had a son of her own blood, would Gu Meiting and the others dare act so unrestrained? Would the old madam indulge her daughter so much?
But then, on second thought, he couldn’t help but smile wryly to himself. Didn’t Madam Gu treat the Prince as her own son with all her heart?
And yet, in the end, hadn’t all her actions only ever demanded that the Prince and the Princess yield, that they tolerate the Eldest Young Miss?
Otherwise, in a great clan with such rigid hierarchy, how could a married-out daughter and her husband ever be permitted to live in the main residence?
Fortunately—fortunately she was not the Prince’s birth mother. Otherwise, the one truly caught in a difficult position would surely have been the Prince himself!
Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps suddenly came from beyond the door, and moments later the head of the Gu family strode in with great strides!
His arrival was so abrupt that everyone was startled, and Gu Meiting and Jiang Yuan’s commotion cut off at once!
Seeing this, the family head—already seething with anger—grew even more furious at the sight, and he roared directly at Gu Meiting and Jiang Yuan, “What do you two think you’re doing?”
Gu Meiting froze, then hastily scooped Jiang Yuan up and retreated. Jiang Yuan was startled witless, and a moment later let out a genuine, full-throated wail.
The family head paid them no more mind, striding swiftly to the bedside and taking Madam Gu’s hand. “Wife, you… the medicine will be here any moment, just hold on a little longer. This is all my fault—I should have stayed here with you!”
Madam Gu looked utterly weak, yet still put on a brave face. “It’s nothing… just a minor chill. It’s only troublesome because we can’t find the medicine.”
As she spoke, she gently brushed back a stray lock of hair that had fallen across the family head’s face, smiling helplessly. “Look at you, losing your temper like that. You’ve frightened Yuan’er into tears.”
“Ill-mannered thing! Nearly seven years old—Meiting, you and your husband, what have you been teaching him? Who gave him permission to climb onto this bed?” the family head bellowed.
Jiang Yuan flinched, then immediately burst into fresh wails, his face pale with fright.
“Father, all right, all right, he’s just a child who doesn’t know better!” Gu Meiting hurried to defend him. She knew her father’s temper better than anyone, and could tell at a glance that he was already furious about something—something must have happened outside!
“You shut your mouth! Physician Hua, will the fever break once we have the medicine?” the family head demanded coldly.
“Yes, my lord, but these past two days we’ve combed nearly the entirety of Liuxian Island and still can’t find it. I’ve already sent the apprentice physicians rushing to the medicine valley to gather more!” Physician Hua answered honestly.
The family head nodded, drew a deep breath, and gently patted Madam Gu’s hand, comforting her. “Wife, don’t worry, I’m here. Nothing will happen to you.”
“It’s only a small matter, don’t worry.” Madam Gu said, then sighed with feeling, “This medicine—it’s only when you truly need it that you realize how precious it is.”
The family head only gave a faint smile, with no intention of revealing the truth.
Gu Meiting, still smarting, spoke up again. “Father, where are Jiang Chen and Suying? Didn’t they come back with you?”
The family head did not answer, still smiling gently as he looked at Madam Gu. Madam Gu was just about to ask the same thing when the family head said mildly, “Wife, I have good news for you… Beiyue… he’s awake.”
The moment these words left his mouth, Madam Gu’s drooping eyes flew wide open, while Gu Meiting froze on the spot—her hands loosening their grip so suddenly that she dropped Jiang Yuan outright!